For the technically savvy, you can run a virtualized desktop: - GPU passthrough VM (gaming) - SATA passthrough (FreeNAS) - multi NIC passthrough (pfSense

For the technically savvy, you can run a virtualized desktop: - GPU passthrough VM (gaming) - SATA passthrough (FreeNAS) - multi NIC passthrough (pfSense/OpenWRT) - app server/cloud/P2P Linux or FreeBSD VM(s) http://unraid.net http://unraid.net sells a KVM-based product. VMware ESXi and XenServer are free. Connect a Ubiquiti AC-Lite WiFi access point to a dedicated NIC on the x86 box, WAN to another NIC. Since pfSense owns the WAN NIC, it can host a VPN server for your devices, including mobile. All VMs get virtual NICs. Dell T30 with quad-core Xeon and ECC costs about $400 with 8GB RAM and 1TB disk, it can hold 4 x 3.5" drives (20 TB in RAID-1) and 2 x 2.5" SSD. Level1Techs has intro videos on home servers: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=level1+home+server https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=level1+home+ser... Advantages: - Stable and boring x86 platform - Good performance for gaming - Commercially supported hardware - Upgradeable storage and GPU - Upgradeable router software